Earlier this month, the Southeastern Conference issued a ban on all types of social media for paid ticketed patrons at any of its conference sporting events or stadiums. So that means no Twitter update after a clutch Florida touchdown or uploading a picture to Facebook^® from seats in the student section at the University of Kentucky hoops game.

The Southeastern Conference believes that information/pictures/videos written or taken at its sporting events are property of the Southeastern Conference and its TV network, CBS, with which the Southeastern Conference just signed a TV rights contract. The Southeastern Conference has since revised its ban on social media to allow personal messages and updates of sporting events but not the distribution of photos or videos in real time for commercial use or as a substitute for radio, TV or video coverage of the event.

On the opposite side of the of “Mason Dixon” line of social media is the Big Ten Conference, which has embraced social media. All Big Ten athletic teams have their own Twitter feeds. For instance, if I wanted to follow Michigan State University’s women’s volleyball team, I can interact with the team throughout the season. I can view pictures that have been uploaded via Twitpic of an Iowa State University football practice or even go onto Hulu.com and watch the 1997 Michigan vs. Ohio State football game.

Personally I don’t understand why the Southeastern Conference wants to protect these images and descriptions since it is getting a ton of money from CBS to broadcast these events out to the public. Just as an aside, the Big Ten has its own cable network that carries all of its sporting events so it doesn’t have the huge million dollar TV contracts.

So don’t you think the Southeastern Conference could use its paying public to help promote not only its big-time football games that millions of people watch but also its lower-profile swim meets that get pretty much zero media coverage? I would suggest working with CBS to air segments during football and basketball games that would utilize user-generated social media content of pictures and updates to enhance the traditional broadcast.

I do realize that when millions of dollars are made on advertising and broadcast contracts people want to control everything to maximize a profit, but do you really think a few pictures, videos or status updates are going to replace watching the game on TV or in person? I highly doubt it. In my opinion it can only enhance viewership by letting viewers and Internet users see a “backstage” view of the game from the guy sitting in the nosebleed seats who posted a few pictures of the game from an angle the TV network will not show you.

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Recently FOX Sports and Major League Baseball (MLB) had some high-level meetings to discuss the huge rating slumps with the World Series and their “so-called” Game of the Week. The conclusion: run more promos…What? More promos?!

I am slightly biased toward this since I am a huge baseball fan and follow the sport daily, baseball has a potentially huge problem on their hands that’s been brewing for the past decade or so and in my opinion it cannot be fixed by running promos. For years MLB has ignored one key demo on a national baseball level - young males. Can you remember the last time a World Series game started prior to 9 p.m.? I don’t know about you, but when I was 10 years old, I was sleeping by 9 p.m. Generations of kids who could be exposed to the sport at a young age and continue watching for several more decades are not watching — a missed opportunity.

I read a quote awhile back from skateboarder Tony Hawk about how he was at a municipal park doing an appearance in the middle of summer. The skate park was packed but all five of the baseball fields there were empty. Pretty sad. When I was young, I remember after school gathering the neighborhood kids and heading to the fields for some pickup baseball…does that happen any more?

Can baseball be saved? Sure it can, with just a little work. Schedule a few playoff and World Series games during the day. Promote the game and not the game of the past. Baseball gets too caught up in tradition of the past. Yeah Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth were great players, but do you think a kid growing up in suburbia cares about the past? NO! Promote the rising stars of the game and give reasons for young kids to get engaged in MLB again, and maybe — just maybe — baseball can get back to where it was as the national pastime.

I am a huge sports fan and even bigger golf fan. I know most people think golf is boring to watch, and don’t know how I can spend an entire Sunday afternoon on the couch watching a tournament.

This weekend is the Masters Tournament, arguably the most prestigious tournament in the world, and usually would spend Saturday and Sunday doing nothing but watching golf. For those of you who do not know, the Masters controls everything that comes out of those fences down in Georgia.

You could never see it live on TV the first 2 rounds of the tournament, only highlights, coverage on weekend started after the leading group hit the back nine, the list goes on and on. But that has all changed in what I think is an awesome way a “snobby” tournament has gone into the “digital” world. Oh how the times have changed.

First ESPN now is broadcasting live and replaying 1st and 2nd rounds for the first time ever. Giving people the chance to see more golf, not just highlights. The tournament Web site is huge and very interactive with international blogs, chat rooms, online golf games, and the best Webcams that are streaming live during the tournament in places such as Amen Corner.

But what I think is the best use of “new technology” for the Masters is they now have an iPhone Application, yup the place where you are kicked out if you are caught even with a phone in hand now has itself an application. Now I don’t have to sit for hours in front of the TV during the Masters (I know I still will). I can follow live leaderboards and watch all Webcams on the course.  I think this is just great how a tournament kinda known for closed doors is embracing technology and opening up to the world, albeit one Webcam at a time.